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Monday, August 14, 2017

Atheism Delusion Ch. 1.3: The Religion of Church Christianity and Evolution

The Religion of Church Christianity and Evolution!

Although it may not have issued an official statement on the matter, or even expressed an opinion on what the theory of evolution presents, the Catholic Church has rejected this theory for decades. This is despite the fact that it deals directly with the topic of creation, which is the most essential issue of religion. In fact, the theory of evolution completely contradicts the Biblical story of Genesis.

An almost identical stance has been taken by other church denominations. They reject the theory of evolution even though some of them do not openly say so. The reason for this may be obvious. The times had changed, the Inquisition had ended, and the chance to cut Darwin’s tongue like Bruno’s, or to imprison and oppress him like Galileo, had ended as well. Therefore, they resorted to silence. Eventually, when they realized that the evidence in favor of evolution was significantly accumulating, especially after advancements in the field of genetics, the Catholic Church was compelled to admit to the theory. Then the Catholic clergy began to say that they had never opposed Darwin or the theory of evolution. Actually, the truth is, they did not cut Darwin's tongue or burn him at the time simply because their authority in Europe had come to an end. Today they are compelled to accept the theory of evolution, even though it could mean the death of the religion of Church Christianity, because the evidence cannot even be debated anymore except by an ignorant few who do not understand what evolution is or how it works. The theory is no longer the same as it was when originally presented by Darwin. Perhaps the only thing left from what he presented is the general concept, since the details, methods of theorizing, proofs, and evidence of evolution have all recently emerged due to advancements in science and research. For those who believe in this theory, it now represents a perfected scientific treatise that explains the story of creation without the need for any supernatural power intervening in its completion, or even in its initiation. Therefore, the theory of evolution is presented today as a theory that refutes religion and the existence of a god. No one can claim to accept both evolution and religion without resolving the conflict that precludes from accepting both. The theory of evolution as it is presented, understood, and theorized today by evolutionary biologists says that evolution is not purposeful in the long-term, making it irreconcilable with religion.

In other words, no one can say that they completely accept the theory of evolution, along with its ensuing implications such as it not being purposeful in the long-term, and continue to maintain that they accept religion at the same time. This claim is a blatant contradiction at a basic level. It would not be made by a rational and knowledgeable person without first resolving this contradiction in order for the claim to be correct, acceptable, and logical. That is why I have said that the acceptance of the theory of evolution by the Church, something it was compelled to do, could mean the death of the religion of Church Christianity unless the Church resolves this contradiction by proving that evolution is purposeful in the long-term.

Of course, they do not understand this, because unfortunately, many of them do not understand what evolution really is, or how the theory of evolution is presented today.

Here is a segment from a debate between Dr. Richard Dawkins [1] and George Pell, an Australian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the Archbishop of Sydney, Australia:

CARDINAL PELL: You have to reason about the facts of science, ask whether you believe that the suggestion that, you know, random selection is sufficient and also most evolutionary biologists today don't believe that.

RICHARD DAWKINS: Don't believe what?

CARDINAL PELL: They don't believe in random so this crude fundamentalist version of random selection that you propose.

RICHARD DAWKINS: I do not propose it and I strongly deny that evolution is random selection. Evolution is non-random selection. Non-random.

CARDINAL PELL: So there is a purpose to it is there?

RICHARD DAWKINS: No.

CARDINAL PELL: Could you explain what non-random means?

RICHARD DAWKINS: Yes, of course I could. It’s my life's work … There is random genetic variation and non-random survival and non-random reproduction, which is why, as the generations go by, animals get better at doing what they do. That is quintessentially non-random. It does not mean there is a purpose in the sense of a human purpose in the sense of a guiding principle which is thought up in advance. With hindsight you can say something like a bird's wing looks as though it has a purpose, a human eye looks as though it has a purpose but it has come about through the process of non-random natural selection. There is no purpose in the human sense. There is a kind of pseudo-purpose but it’s not a purpose in the human sense of conscious guiding. But above all I must stress that Darwinian evolution is a non-random process. One of the biggest misunderstandings, which I’m sorry to say the Cardinal has just perpetrated, is that evolution is a random process. It is the opposite of a random process (Religion And Atheism Q & A: Adventures In Democracy 2012).

It is clear that the Cardinal entered the debate with Dr. Dawkins without understanding evolution, or what evolutionary biologists like Dawkins say about it, which is that evolution is non-random because it is governed by the system of natural selection, yet it is not purposeful in the long-term.

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[1] Dr. Richard Dawkins, born in 1941, is a distinguished British biologist and an Oxford University professor who specializes in evolutionary biology and animal be- havior. He has penned many publications including: The Selfish Gene, The Blind Watch- maker and The God Delusion. In his book The Selfish Gene, he scientifically established the important role of genes and the competitive battle for survival of the best gene. He also introduced and developed the meme theory. Richard Dawkins is famous for his atheist views, and the radical use of the theory of evolution to promote atheism. In 2006, Dawkins established, â€œThe Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Sci- enceâ€‌. This foundation aims to promote acceptance of atheism and to defend scientific responses to questions pertaining to existence.